“Yeah, it was really slick and really well done and I’m really embarrassed that I fell for it,” said Lynch.

She said she never questioned the man because he said he was a college student who grew up in a nearby neighborhood and even mentioned her neighbor’s name.

She wrote him a check for more than $100. Up the street, Leo Berzinski also wrote the man a check, thinking he was paying for a magazine subscription for the children’s hospital cancer unit.

“That bothers me, when I think someone wants something for children’s cancer and I think of those kids…it was absolutely convincing,” said Berzinski.

Dozens of the neighbors exchanged messages that night, wondering if they’d all been scammed. None of them asked if the man had a permit to sell door-to-door.

“In today’s society, they should be asking every time someone knocks at their door. They should be suspicious of everybody. It’s a shame we’ve come to that, but you can’t allow yourself to become victimized,” said Derry Township Police Chief Pat O’Rouke.

Derry Township police received similar complaints about salesmen in other neighborhoods and caught a handful of them in the act near downtown Hershey.

Police cited three salesmen for not having required permits and forced them to give the money back to the homeowners.

“In this case, we wanted to make sure we did right by the residents and protected their interests so that was probably the most prudent thing the officers on scene came up with,” said O’Rouke.

The experience taught Berzinski a lesson and he wants everyone else to learn from him.

“I will check the organization out first because that’s what I usually do. I’ll see who’s the keeper of their organization. I’ll turn them down and tell them why and I’m going to stay firm to that from here on in,” said Berzinski.

So as a consumer and homeowner, the takeaway is to check on the solicitation ordinance for your community.

They can vary a lot from town to town. And special exceptions are occasionally made for nonprofits like the Girl Scouts selling cookies.

If a solicitation permit is required in your town and the person knocking at your door doesn’t have one, then you’re covered.

Copyright 2013 byWGAL All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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